Understanding the mechanistic basis of crop yield reductions in warm winters

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In the UK and Europe high yielding arable crops are sown in autumn and flower the following spring. During winter they require chilling to promote flowering and also during flower development to promote high fertility. Previously, our research has shown that insufficient chilling during flower development leads to large yield reductions in some growing seasons, but the precise mechanism by which these effects of chilling affect yield remain unclear.This project will develop new varieties of winter oilseed rape that are able to respond to higher chilling temperatures, and thus will have more resilient high yields as the climate warms. The project will use modern scientific methods to accelerate the breeding of new crop varieties more suited to the environments of 21st century Europe.Genomic techniques will be used to discover gene variants that allow high yields in environments with modest chilling, and improve our understanding of the molecular and physiological basis of yield reductions in warm winters. The project will seek to understand the effects of climate change on crops, using techniques such as a field trials with artificial plotwarming, and new controlled environment facilities that can mimic real environments at high resolution and simulate warming at specific times of the year.